Double-chain surfactant octahedral Co(III) complexes 1 and 2 (X = ClO4) (a,
R = C6H13; b, R = C8H17; c, R C10H21; d, R - C12H25; e, R = C14H29, f, R =
C16H33) were synthesized in H2O and 20:1 (v/v) EtOH-H2O by the reaction of
RNHCH2CH2NH2 (5) with Na3Co(NO2)(6), followed by the addition of NaClO4. T
he cisoid 1/transoid 2 diastereomer ratio increased upon going from EtOH-H2
O to H2O, in particular by a factor of approximate to5 for the octyl and do
decyl systems and approximate to8 for the hexadecyl system. The increase in
the relative amount of cisoid 1 was attributed to the hydrophobic effect a
ssociated with the aggregation of ligand 5 in H2O. Surfactant complexes 3 a
nd 4 (X = NO3) were also prepared in EtOH(MeOH)-H2O. The characterization o
f 1-4 included single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of 1e and 3a, measu
rement of their Krafft temperatures, and demonstration of the cleavable nat
ure of 3a and 4a.